First, empirical studies and research projects ARE NOT “dangerous” (although their interpretation, misinterpretation and/or misuse can be dangerous depending on various reasons). Second, this is not the first genetic study of Jews nor the most extensive one. Over the past two decades, a number of larger and more diverse studies have been conducted around the world. I refer you to David Goldstein’s “Jacob’s Legacy: A Genetic View of Jewish History” (2008) and Jon Entine’s “Abraham’s Children: Race, Identity, and the DNA of the Chosen People” (2007), who have done their best to summarize and simplify the empirical findings for laymen like yourself. Third, these findings have nothing to do with beliefs, religion, ideologies or nationalism, but everything to do with ‘simple’ DNA. This partially confirms what we already knew, for many years, about specific medical conditions that Jews primarily have and that are far rarer among non-Jews, which in turn confirms genetic findings like these. Baptists, Catholics, Shiite Muslims, Sunni Muslims, Communists, KKK, Nazis and Atheists, for example, do not have specific bio-medical/physical diseases nor do they share similar DAN that differentiates between them! The findings, to date, strongly suggest that diverse Jewish population in Israel (so called “Ashkenazic” and “Sephardic”) share very similar DNA among themselves and with the Jewish Diaspora (those who left and were evicted from their homeland and then dispersed throughout the world over a couple of thousand years ago); and this DNA is dissimilar to the people among they have lived in the Diaspora (Poles, Germans, Americans, etc.). This also means that we are from the same “racial” or ethnic group and from the same “people”, who are anthropologically classified as Western Asians and Semites of Middle Eastern origins (such as Arabs, Druze, Persians/Farsi and some Turks for example). By the way, the findings from other earlier and much larger studies suggest that Jewish DNA is most similar to Arabs living in and in close proximity to present Israel; and the next close match is with Greeks. These additional findings tend to make sense when you consider the degree of intermarriage, forced conversions and rapes that surely must have occurred between the local Jewish population of Israel with the invading Philistines (which archeologists think came from what is today northern Greece about 3,000 years ago) and the neo-Greeks who invaded Israel in 333BC with Alexander the Great. Remember the story of Chanuka? In addition to oil lasting for 8 days and the strong push-back to these foreign invaders and occupiers, it was most likely a hell of lot of seminal fluid and content that was exchanged for a much longer period of time! And before that, Jews are a mixture of local Semitic peoples (primarily from what is today southern Iraq and Proto-Semitic people like the Canaanites, Phoenicians and so forth). And then, of course, many Jews living in Israel, after numerous invasions and occupations, were forced to convert to other religions. Read about the forced conversions to Islam from 636AD up until the end of the Ottoman Empire as the most recent example of forced conversions of the local/indigenous Jewish population, which followed earlier conversions to the Egyptian, Persian, Greek, Roman and Byzantium/Christian religious cults of the time). These are very interesting genetic findings, and I 'challenge' the 'disbelievers' to refute them! Just read the findings, and try not to use or misuse them for your own narrow purposes; and don’t get to emotional about them!

what planet are you on?

i wish there were more of you in the arab lands.

You disregard the fact that most mixes happened in the last Century following the Russian Revolutions and the rise of atheism. Till then Jews were living in the Shtetls (small villages) closely preserving their bloodline. Khazars disappeared many centuries before when South- Russians ambushed them and helped Chinggis Khan to destroy their kingdom.

I heard of a study stating that Ashkenazi Jews are more closely related to Palestinian Arabs than they are to Sefardi/Mizrachi Jews. Kinda blows a hole in the whole "Ashkenazi Jews are just Turkic Khazars who converted to Judaism" argument, doesn't it? The reason for this is probably a northward migration of Jews out of Eretz Israel and into Europe combined with Jewish conversion to Islam within Eretz Israel to circumvent Dhimmi laws. As far as the future, Jews have always intermarried and will probably continue to always do so. As far as it affecting the Jewish gene pool, however, Jews who intermarry tend to assimilate into the cultures they intermarry into, more often than not leaving more of a Jewish genetic imprint on Gentile culture than the other way around. As far as "conserving genes", the reason for the apparent genetic homogeneity of Jews has more to do with Christian and Islamic societies forbidding conversion to Judaism on pain of death coupled with Jewish communities traditionally refusing to accept intermarried couples than it does with any Nazi-like idea of "racial purity". Anybody can become a Jew (including you, Mr. Palestine), but until recently people have been forbidden from doing so by anti-Jewish host cultures...

The lead page of the journal clearly states its study refuted large-scale genetic contributions of Central and Eastern European and Slavic populations to the formation of Ashkenazi Jewry. The myth Khazars converted to Jewish is a fake fable. The ruling family did, but not the masses of Khazars. Teat ruling family was overthrown within 50 years and after that the new rulers and masses of people then converted to another religion. I think study showed closer affinity dna with Kurds, more than Arabs

we are not related with you. You mind your business and we will mind ours. Go on with you violence, hatred and racism. That is what you do best.

Jews from Spain are Sephardi

If you read the book and his memoirs he said that his objective was to show that we shouldn't be hated by the christians, almost in an attempt to seperate us from our ancestors since we were hated for being the "christ killers". All Jews have their roots in Israel, whether a ger or a born Jew. PS: I'm a mizrachi Yemenite Jew telling you this for your info. Genetics don't lie, but the anti-semites DO.

THERE LIVES NO TURKISH POPULATION IN POLAND. THE POLES ARE A GERMAN PEOPLE OF ARMENIAN STOCK. THE AZHKENAZIS ARE GOTIC GERMANS STEMMING FROM GEORGIA IN KAUKASUS. THEY ARE ALSO THE PEOPLE THE INDIANS IN HISTOEY CALLAED "KESI", NOW LIVING IN KASHMIR WHO BEARS THEIR NAME. THEIR NAME IS ALSO FOUND IN THE SINKIANG TOWN OF "KASHGAR", AND IN THE TOWN CALLED "TASKENT". THE PEOPLE OF AFHGANISTAN ALSO BELONGS TO THEM. GEORGIA IN KAUKASUS WAS CALLED "KASGA", IN THE 15th CENTURY B.C. FROM THEIR NAME COMES, "KASSI","ASI",ASIA". Arn.

Salma , Palestine (06.09.10) THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE ARE A EGYPTIAN PEOPLE STEMMING FROM CREETE, AND ARE HAMITS. THE PALESTINIANS ARE NOT SONS OF ABRAHAM. Arn.

but, in general, what advantage would u get by conserving ur genes?? THERE IS STILL 10 ISRAELI TRIBES LOOST SINCE 500 B.C. THEY WILL COME HOME, AND THEIR GENES WILL CONFIRME THEIR HISTORY. Arn.

THE POLES,SORBS AND UKRAINIANS ARE ALL SLAVS, OF ARMENIAN-GERMAN ORIGIN. THE RUSSIANS ARE NOT SLAVS, AND THE SLAVS NOT RUSSIANS(MOSKOVITES). THE AZKENASIS IS GOTIC GERMANS STEMMING FROM GEORGIA IN KAUKASUS. Arn.

since Jews generally do not intermarry with the non Jews and have not done so for hundreds (Thousands) of years- this should not be a surprise- they are all related- cousins so to speak... makes me wonder thought where the descendants of the first Christians come into this equation- they were Jewish too...

THE BERBER POPULATION IN WESTERN NORTH AFRICA, AN THE MAIN BULK OF THE PEOPLE IN ALGERIA, ARE AZKENASIM. THE MAIN BULK OF THE PEOPLES LIVING IN THE SPANISH PENINSULA, AND SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE LIKEWISE. Arn.

Inbreeding?

at least we know they're not Arabs.

Sons of Uncle Sam? Must be a bastard?

Well, not as crazy as you.

many jews in Europe r jewish sphared, many got there after spain Inquisition, so just because jew r from europe it doesn' mean they r aschkenazis, and the most interesting part some aschkenazis jews return back to Israel in 18th centuary. the synagogue the Hurba was founded in the year 1721 in jerusalem . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurva_Synagogue just proves jews were in Israel way before.

they r not related to abraham at all, some pali tried to convience me he is lokal, he just ignored the fact his family name is darwish, many people around the world r being called after their origin places, and his darwish name actually is from Turky, in Turky there entire cult of drwishes. this simple fact just show they will change their own origin and history just to conquer other people area.

like Teitel, maybe that is the reson.

It's never been proven - and even if it was true, they would have made up the bulk of European Jewry, and we know what happened to them in WWII. Each and every Jew has a claim to Eretz Yisroel - even a convert. You might just want to mind your own business.

you must be referring to Paqid.

Yet if you ask any Iraqi Jew or Syrian Jew and they will tell you that they are Sephardic. Except for "Bank Mizrahi" the word "Mizrahi" is rarely heard.

were kicked out from the area that today is named syria, syria didn't exist yet, syria was founded only 1940 by the franch, further more(cause I did research) they weren't one type of jews, they contain 3 different groups from 3 different times, third were the jews who run from spain and setteled in Haleb area, so you see to claim that jews from arab countries r one community is wrong, especially when similar situation happened to the jews from Italy and from Romania, Italian jews were half and half actually(half from spain and half from what left of the roman empire). interesting isn't it.

by the look of some of these talkbacks, people really believe that if a born gentile starts practicing rabbinic judaism and gets a piece of paper from the rabbis saying they converted, tada! this person is now *jewish*, while someone born jewish that practices some other religion/no religion at all is *not jewish* anymore. in pakeed's case, he is a gentile proselyte convert to judaism (not an "orthodox jew"). i am just poking fun at those who actually believe that one's religious opinion trumps blood descent when it comes to jewish matters. but hey, if that floats their boat they can deceive themselves all they want. and i can have a bit of fun with them :-)

first of all ,the Golan heights are in Suria ,not Israel ..look at the UN maps ..so i think you are the one who is not only confused ..but disoriented as well . hope you didn't buy your house man ..unless you want to be honored with our citizenship ..or move .

no researches for genes it will be for doing only and it would be terrible abhoront if all jews share the same doing there will be hell on earth hell in heaven